Select the correct word to complete the following sentence.
When fire raged through the hamlet, loud cries _______ the air.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → rent
Complete sentence: When fire raged through the hamlet, loud cries rent the air. Deciding clue: "raged" shows that the event is in the past, so the past tense rent is needed.
| Option | Form and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) rend | Rend is the base (present) form. It does not agree with the past tense "raged". | The news seemed to rend her heart. |
| (2) rent (answer) | Rend means to tear apart violently. Its forms are rend – rent – rent. "Cries rent the air" is a fixed expression: the cries were so loud that they seemed to tear the air. Two-step check: 1. meaning: the verb must mean "tear apart" (rend, not render or rent "pay for"). 2. tense: past, to match "raged". | Shouts of joy rent the air when the team won. |
| (3) render | to give or provide, or to cause to become. Cries cannot render the air. | The storm rendered the roads useless. |
| (4) rented | Rented is the past tense of the verb rent (to pay for the use of something), a different verb with a different meaning. | They rented a flat near the station. |
Contrast: rend – rent – rent means to tear apart. Rent – rented – rented means to pay for the use of something.